All Men Must Write

George R. R. Martin Says a New Westeros Book Is Coming in 2018

With the premiere of the seventh season of Game of Thrones behind us, many are wondering what in seven hells is up with the sixth book in George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy series, The Winds of Winter. It’s been six years since the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, hit bookshelves in the summer of 2011, and fans are getting antsy. Some speculated that a publication announcement would come along with the season premiere, but obviously that didn’t happen. The HBO show has already overtaken the books, and is expected to conclude with an eighth season sometime in 2018 or 2019. So, what’s the hold-up, George?

Martin took to his LiveJournal on Saturday afternoon to provide fans with a much-longed-for update on the status of his book—and while it’s a little disappointing, it’s not wholly unexpected. He also addressed two other big rumors surrounding the tome: that it’s done already (and he’s just been sitting on it because he hates us), and that he hasn’t written a word of it. Neither of those, thankfully, are true.

And, yes, I know you all want to know about THE WINDS OF WINTER too.
I’ve seen some truly weird reports about WOW on the internet of late,
by ‘journalists’ who make their stories up out of whole cloth. I don’t
know which story is more absurd, the one that says the book is
finished and I’ve been sitting on it for some nefarious reason, or the
one that says I have no pages. Both ‘reports’ are equally false and
equally moronic. I am still working on it, I am still months away (how
many? good question), I still have good days and bad days, and that’s
all I care to say. Whether WINDS or the first volume of FIRE AND BLOOD
will be the first to hit the bookstores is hard to say at this
juncture, but I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in
2018… and who knows, maybe two. A boy can dream…

That Fire and Blood volume he mentioned is a two-part history of the Targaryen family, the dynasty whose line Daenerys is the last of (or is she???). His “GRRMarillion” will describe the events of the Targaryen rule in Westeros up to Robert’s Rebellion, the war that directly precedes the events of A Song of Ice and Fire.

The first of those will cover the history of Westeros from Aegon's
Conquest up to and through the regency of the boy king Aegon III (the
Dragonbane). That one is largely written, and will include (for the
first time) a complete detailed history of the Targaryen civil war,
the Dance of the Dragons. My stories in DANGEROUS WOMEN ("The Princess
and the Queen") and ROGUES ("The Rogue Prince") were abridged versions
of the same histories.

So, we will, finally, get a new book set in the world of Westeros sometime in 2018. But whether it’ll be the one fans have been waiting for, not even Melisandre could tell.